✅ What are political parties?

Party system=?

• refers to the political party system- an essential part of the working of the British constitution, which depends on the existence of organised political parties, presenting policies to the electorate

Main UK parties?

conservative, labour, Lib Dem’s, UKIP/reform, SNP, Plaid Cymru, democratic unionist party + the Green Party

• The way the political party system works=

• the party that wins the most seats at a general election, or which has the support of a majority of MPs usually forms the govt, with 100 of its members in the HOC and HOL receiving ministerial appointments, the largest minority party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and a ‘shadow’ cab.

How parties are organised in parliament=

• the govt + opposition sit on either side of the commons chamber (which is why we are said to have an ‘adversarial’ party system), the leaders sit on the front benches with their supporters sitting on the back benches behind them. This is similar in the HOL, although some lords don’t have a political party association so sit on the ‘cross benches’

The general aim of the party system in parliament =?

• is for the opposition to constructively criticised policy formulation (with questions from the floor of both houses + in committees), oppose the govt on proposals it considers objectionable (seeking to ament them / vote them down) + to formulate their own policies to try win at the next general election

Political party=

a group of people that is organised for the purpose of winning power at a national + local level, in a democratic system they do this by putting candidates up for election, in the hope of gaining popular support + ultimately winning + exercising power

• 3 main features of political parties:

Aim to exercise power by winning political office

They typically adopt a broad issue focus

Members of political parties are usually united by shared political references + a general ideological identity

How parties Aim to exercise power by winning political office

historically only the labour + conservative parties could hope to win power in a general election, with smaller parties like the greens using general elections more to gain a political platform than to win power, at a devolved + local level, there has been a far wider range of parties which can realistically expect to win + exercise power

How parties typically adopt a broad issue focus

addressing each of the major areas of govt policy, prior to an election, parties produce a manifesto, which sets out the policies, covering all that they hope to implement in the period until the next election if they win power, some smaller parties like the Brexit party in 2019 may be perceived to have a narrower/ single issue focus, thus resembling pressure groups

How members of political parties are usually united by shared political references + a general ideological identity ,

• although these are often loose and broadly defined, e.g. ideologically labour is a socialist party, with a loose + broadly defined commitment to creating a more equal society, ideological identity is a way for parties to signpost to voters how to vote + is usually expressed in the policy promises made by the party

• A political party uses its manifesto to

• set out the policies it would seek to pass into law if elected to office, and so the party that is returned to power at Westminster in the wake of the general election is said to have earned an electoral mandate,

a party that wins an election is said to have electorate mandate because?

• popular support for the winning party at the ballot box it taken as support for the manifesto that the party presented to voters during the election campaign

Electoral mandate=

the right of a party to implement its stated policies, without the need to go back to voters for further approval, it also doesn't require the govt to deliver on it's manifesto promises or prevent it from drafting proposals that were not included in its manifesto

Manifesto=

 a pre-election policy document in which a party sets out a series of policy pledges + legislative proposals that it plans to enact if returned to office, and so the party is said to have earned electoral mandate if they win a general election

Salisbury convention=

• a constitution convention that the HOL shouldn’t at 2nd reading block a govt bill that is seeking to deliver on a manifesto pledge

• The origins of the Salisbury convention lie in

• the idea of the mandate developed by conservative PM lord Salisbury in the late  19th century that a general election victory gives the governing party the authority to implement the programme it presented to the electorate, the convention then developed in the 1940s as an acceptance that the unelected lords should not frustrate the will of the elected commons, it is said to extend to any bill appearing in the govt’s programme for the session

• Main democratic functions supported by political parties:

Policy formation

Recruitment

Organisation of govt

Participation

Representation

How parties support policy formation

• (parties develop manifestos ahead of elections which is put to voter ahead of elections so voters have effective choice)

• They develop policies which are often different, giving the electorate meaningful choice between potential govts, by providing a manifesto, parties can be held to account for their performance in govt

How parties support recruitment

• (political parties train + recruit people for elections, political office + governmental posts)

• They control the process of who is selected as a candidate + therefore who is potential elected, they provide the politically engaged w an opportunity to experience canvassing, debating + running a constituency. This trains them in the values + processes of their party + they can grow their political skills + progress up the party

How parties support organisation of govt

• (political parties form govts + can be held accountable for their actions in govt)

• UK has a system of 'party govt' w parties implementing their manifesto. They also provide stability as members of the govt are drawn from the same party + are united. Parties not in govt form a source of opposition + criticism, scrutinising + holding the govt to account

How parties support participation

• (parties offer the opportunity for people to participate in politics)

• By joining a party people can take part in party processes such as selecting candidates, campaigning, selecting candidates or becoming candidates, they also help to educate + mobilise the electorate by canvasing, public meetings, advertising + raising awareness

How parties support representation

• (they represent the values + ideology of the people who identify with them + vote for them. )

• They respond to the demands of public opinion + turn them into policy, increasingly, the major UK parties are now 'catch all parties' meaning they develop policies which will appeal to a wide range of voters

• How parties don’t support democracy thru policy formation:

• Policy formation has changed overtime, e.g. some political parties have distanced themselves from their trad ideologies, + have promoted themselves based on a technocratic choice between whose team would most effectively run the country, a lack of ideological identity between parties can lead to a lack of choice contributing to voter apathy + low turnout

• How parties don't support democracy thru recruitment:

• Party leadership is often based on skills for winning al election, rather than who is most competent at governing, leadership is chosen by the membership who represent about 2% of the population, the party membership can't be held accountable, yet has disproportionate power in regards to choosing the next PM (e.g. Johnson, Truss, Sunak)

• How parties don't support democracy thru the organisation of govt:

• Party unity can be questions with different factions, instability within govt has become more common esp. if the party is split on a particular issue. E.g. May + the inability of her party to form a majority view on Brexit

How parties don't support democracy thru participation

• Partisan dealignment (voter loyalty + identification w parties has declined), e.g. in 2015 on 9% of people claimed to have a 'very strong' attachment to a party, turnout in elections have fallen, membership of the 3 major parties has also fallen

• How parties don't support democracy thru representation

• Parties have been accused of moving away from trad voter groups,( e.g. Blair reducing Labour's connections w trade unions), by trying to appeal to everyone, parties follow majority opinions, some have argues that pressure groups are more effective at articulating diff viewpoint to policy makers